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Hanover-area candidates snag GOP bids, but what's next?

Kate Klunk and Will Tallman won the Republican nominations for the 169th and 193rd Legislative districts, respectively

By Mark Walters and Jennifer Wentz

The Evening Sun

Posted:
05/23/2014 04:28:48 PM EDT

Two Hanover-area Republicans furthered their bids for state House seats in the May 20 primary. An incumbent claimed the GOP nod for the 193rd Legislative District and a new face from Hanover took the party's bid for the new-to-York County 169th district.

Both candidates are heavily concerned with property tax and pension reform, two issues that will likely dominate their campaigns' conversations.

Will Tallman

Even though he handily won the Republican nomination for the 193rd state House seat, Will Tallman admitted he has a lot to learn about Cumberland County.

Gembusia, a Cumberland County man and South Middleton Township supervisor, defeated Tallman in Cumberland County, 1,022-580, but Tallman's Adams County votes, 2,109-398, tipped the scales in his favor, according to unofficial results. Results will likely be finalized next week.

Tallman said he was pleased with his primary victory. He reached out to Gembusia afterward, commending his opponent's campaign efforts and seeking help to get acquainted with Cumberland County.

Tallman will continue his bid for his fourth term in the Nov. 4 general election. He has yet to have a challenger on the Democratic ticket.

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There were 528 write-in votes cast by Adams County Democrats for the 193rd district and 60 such votes in Cumberland County. If a Democratic candidate receives enough write-in votes, he or she would be on the ballot in November.

Write-in votes will not be tabulated and made official until next week, said Monica Dutko, Adams County Director of Elections.

Turnout for the primary was 17.5 percent for Adams County, Dutko said, one of the lowest turnouts she has seen for a primary in 26 years. Cumberland County's voter turnout was slightly higher at 19.5 percent, said Penny Brown, director of elections for Cumberland County.

Gembusia said he did not properly estimate the impact Adams County voters ultimately had on the results, but commended Tallman for running a gentlemanly campaign.

"Myself and the folks who supported me will fall behind Will and help introduce him in Cumberland County and make sure he has the ability to represent both counties well," Gembusia said.

Tallman said he represented portions of York County well and believes he will be able to do the same for portions of Cumberland County.

The 193rd district previously contained Hanover Borough and Penn Township. It was redrawn during the state's latest redistricting.

Tallman vowed to continue his push for two pieces of proposed legislation that would replace the property tax with variations of sales and income taxes to fund public schools.

It also includes Cooke, North Newton, Penn, South Middleton and South Newton townships and Mount Holly Springs Borough in Cumberland County.

Kate Klunk

Kate Klunk hopes to bring a fresh perspective to her district's representation in Harrisburg.

The 31-year-old Hanover woman beat out three other candidates for the Republican nomination in the 169th State House race. She received 1,706 votes, more than 39 percent of the total cast, according to unofficial results.

The other three candidates — Leroy Wentz, Marc Woerner and Gene Montanarelli — received about 30, 24 and 6 percent of the vote, respectively.

The newly-relocated 169th House seat spans Codorus, Heidelberg, Penn, Manheim, Shrewsbury and West Manheim townships as well as Glen Rock, Hanover, New Freedom, Jefferson and Railroad boroughs. The district was relocated from Philadelphia to York County during the General Assembly's most recent round of redistricting, a process that ensures each district has as close to equal representation as possible.

Now that Klunk has the Republican nomination for this new seat, her goals include continuing to listen to Hanover's residents while gearing up for the general election.

No Democrat was filed in the primary, but with 120 write-in votes cast, Klunk could face competition in November.

Klunk, a private practice attorney, has spent much of her free time over the past two years learning about the needs of the Hanover area as a member of the Main Street Hanover Steering Committee and the Main Street Hanover Promotions Committee.

In that time, she said, she has come to appreciate the wants and needs of the district's residents, many of whom reside in or around the borough.

"The people of this district are very kind, very supportive, very hardworking," she said. "This has really brought forth an optimism in me."

Property-tax reform will be her No. 1 priority if she gets to Harrisburg, she said. She favors House Bill 1189, which she said would give school districts the freedom to choose what form of taxation to use.

Pension and prevailing wage reform are also high on her list of priorities, she said.

The campaigning process has been humbling for Klunk, who said she is honored to know that people in the district trust her to bring their hopes and dreams to Harrisburg.

She said the process, while exhausting, has been a rewarding one, and she has enjoyed the conversations she has held with the people of the district.

"I'm looking forward to continuing those discussions in Harrisburg," she said.